Former leading New Zealand publisher and bookseller, and widely experienced judge of both the Commonwealth Writers Prize and the Montana New Zealand Book Awards, talks about what he is currently reading, what impresses him and what doesn't, along with chat about the international English language book scene, and links to sites of interest to booklovers.

Friday, March 06, 2009

When we visited a friend in San Francisco last year she said that she had decided that she was definitely coming to New Zealand for a holiday.She is now asking for a recommended reading list – and she doesn’t mean Lonely Planet Guides etc. She wants real books fiction and non fiction. I am putting my list together, topped by Michael King’s History, but I thought it would be an interesting exercise to get the opinions of other readers.

Maybe you could run it as an exercise on your blog Graham?

Bob and I would welcome your suggestions which I can publish here for all to read with or without your names.

Among my essential NZ reading list would be Krystyna's Story, the story of one of the first wave of European Refugees to New Zealandand as such contributes to our Euro/NZ history. Not tomention the fact that it is still selling 17 yearsafter first being published.

Knowing nothing about the person you are recommending the book to, I would go with "The Book of the Film of the Story of my Life" by William Brandt. Not always a literary masterpiece but always entertaining. Then I would go with either "Queen of Beauty" by Paula Morris and "Going West" by Maurice Gee. Both have images that have stayed with me for years.